


can’t help (falling in love)

by transocelot



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pining Idiots, fyi kissing in the medbay probably isn’t all that sanitary but i don’t think they care, seriously these two are so fuckin dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 18:46:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16023785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transocelot/pseuds/transocelot
Summary: the two times bones knew he loved jim before they were together/the first time jim knew he was in love with bones&the first kiss of many





	can’t help (falling in love)

The first time Bones knew he was in love with Jim was about two months ago.

As always, Jim insisted to go down with the landing party on some _stupid_  mission that could’ve killed all of them. Of course, everyone came back in one piece, but there were some minor injuries.

“Honestly, Jim, you have to be more careful,” he muttered as he cleaned up a gash on his arm. “You can’t go into those things recklessly!”

Jim had merely rolled his eyes. Said he worried about him too much.   
In a way, that was true. He was the captain after all, they couldn’t risk him dying like an idiot. But there was something deeper to his worry that he couldn’t quite place.

That was, of course, until he caught himself checking up on Jim nearly every day for a week. It wasn’t until it was pointed out that he even knew he was doing it.

“Well, I mean, you’re the _captain_  after all,” Bones said, trying to defend himself. “And you’re working with a concus-”

“McCoy, I’m fine,” Jim replied. “I’ve worked with worse. You have other patients, don’t you?”

Embarrassed, he nodded. God, he was like some teenager chasing someone they li-  
Oh.  _Oh_. Bones’ face flushed a deep red, and he hurried off without another word.   
He was hopelessly in love with James T. Kirk. Sure, he had written off those feelings as whatever else, but the whole conversation _and_  his own thought process made him realize why he was acting the way he did.

This was going to kill him.

The second time Bones knew he was in love with Jim was a week ago.

Jim had gotten drunk, which wouldn’t have been a problem if he didn’t see McCoy. He got a little...clingy while drunk, to say the least. And whenever a very drunk Jim Kirk comes to talk with you, you tended to have to take care of him.   
Which was precisely what Bones was doing.

“Jim, c’mon,” he half groaned as he half carried him to his quarters. “Work with me here.”

Jim giggled and leaned on the poor doctor, and apparently he decided it was a good idea to slow down. Or his legs were giving out on him. Bones didn’t know which one it was at this point.   
Just a little longer until they got to his quarters...

“Bones, Bones, hey,” he said, mostly giggling at that point. “Bones, Boonnessss..”

Bones rolled his eyes. It was oddly endearing in a sense, but honestly he was tired of dragging Jim’s drunk ass to where he couldn’t get hurt.

“What?” he asked. “This better be important, Jim.”

Knowing Jim, it wasn’t too important to anyone but himself. The captain took a few seconds to reply, which concerned him a little.

“You just...mean a lot to me,” he finally said. “I give you a hard time sometimes but—“  
He smiled, gazing at Bones.   
(Was this even legal? Who allowed Jim to make his heart race like this?)  
“—you’re a good man.”

Bones’ whole face went scarlet. Even his _ears_  were red. Thankfully the rest of the crew wouldn’t see him in such a state. He just smiled.   
“Let’s get you to bed.”

Jim pouted.  
“Stay with me until I fall asleep?”

He didn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t have said no to him even if he wasn’t in love.   
“Of course.”

And he did. He stayed for a bit after, just to make sure he had water when he inevitably woke up with a hangover. It was the least he could do for him.   
That night, he left the captain’s quarters with a warm feeling in his chest.

—

Now, the good captain couldn’t say when the first time he knew he was in love with Bones. They had been friends for awhile, and there was always _something_  there. He could only name that something last night.

Jim had, again, come back with a few minor injuries from whatever stunt he pulled on their latest adventure. It wasn’t serious, but of course McCoy had insisted on patching him up. He was more delicate than usual, which struck him as odd. But he chose not to say anything. He couldn’t, really, since the doctor was going on about what could’ve happened down there. (Like always. Old habits die hard)

McCoy finished up, but before Jim could leave, he placed a hand on his arm.   
“You could’ve died, you know.”

None of his usual snark was there. Was there concern in his voice? Jim couldn’t really tell at the moment.   
He smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, but I didn’t. Only got banged up a little,” he replied.

Bones shook his head, and he laughed. It was unexpected, but it was a welcome sound.

“You’re such a goddamn idiot, Kirk.”

Bones’ tone was fonder than usual. The captain found himself blushing. He never blushed, what the hell..?  
He realized he was staring and snapped out of it. McCoy frowned.

“Are you sure you’re not sick?” he asked. “You’re flushed...maybe the scanners didn’t pick it up.”

“I-I’m fine. I’m fine, thank you,” Jim said quickly, heading off. “I just need to rest in my quarters for a bit.”

Of course, Bones looked at him like he was the dumbest person in the galaxy, and to be honest, Jim sort of felt that way. He picked up the pace and left the medbay, heart racing.   
So that ‘something’ was love. He was too annoyed at himself to let that bother him. How long had he been pining for? And how didn’t he notice before that Bones felt the same way? He saw it in the way he talked, or he did now at least.

So, as always, he would try and do something stupid. Though in comparison to his other plans, it was slightly less stupid, but there still was a huge risk.

Jim sighed. He’d attempt the plan tomorrow.

—

Their first kiss was in the medbay. Jim had let himself in, knowing full well that Bones was the only person there at the moment. He, for the first time in awhile, was nervous. He just didn’t want to screw this up somehow.

Bones saw him and shook his head.   
“Did you finally realize it’d be a good idea to come down here to see if you were sick or not?” he asked. “Because...”

He must’ve known something was up since he stopped. Or he was thinking of something. It was hard to tell at this point. Jim licked his lips and tried to find his voice. For some reason, he couldn’t. Bones took a couple of steps forward, then stopped right in front of Jim.

And then he kissed him.   
Jim wished he could say he was prepared for it, but it was a bold move on Bones’ part. To be honest, he was a little startled by how sudden it was. But it was welcome. It took a moment for him to return the kiss, but he did so gladly. He cupped the doctor’s face with both of his hands, eyelashes fluttering gently.   
It seemed like this moment would last forever, but all good things had to come to an end.

Jim was the first to break the kiss. He gazed into Bones’ eyes, words still lost on him. He laughed breathlessly.   
“You should know better than to do that in the medbay,” he teased. “It’s not sanitary, Len.”

Bones frowned.   
“You came down here in the first place, Jim.”

“You were the one who kissed me,” he pointed out.

“You kissed back!”

Jim smiled. He planted a small kiss on the corner of Bones’ mouth. Then he kissed the tip of his nose.   
“True. Truth be told, I’ve wanted to for a long time.”

Bones opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. The tips of his ears turned a light shade of pink. Ah, there was the reaction Jim was hoping for. His smile widened.

“Dammit Jim, why didn’t you say anything?” Bones asked. “I’ve been... _pining—”_

(He sounded almost embarrassed)

“—for you for awhile.”

Jim tilted his head to the side.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bones scoffed.   
“Tell _you_ , James Tiberius Kirk, that I liked you? Half the ship feels that way. I didn’t even know if you liked men.”

He huffed. Clearly, he was annoyed, which was kind of funny. Jim laughed.  
“Maybe _you’re_  the biggest idiot in the universe,” he said with a snort. “I had like...three boyfriends.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.   
“I mean, then again I never really told anyone. They didn’t stick around for too long.”

Bones gave Jim the “you’re so fucking stupid” look before reaching out and taking a hold of his hand. His hands were oddly rough, Jim noted. Much unlike his own.

“I could stick around,” Bones murmured, glancing down at their hands. “I don’t have much of a choice anyways since I’m stuck with you for five years, but...”  
He shifted his gaze to Jim.   
“Would you want to try that?”

It was Jim’s turn to blush. He had never considered that Bones would be the one to ask him out, even though he had been the one to kiss him. Whatever plan Jim had was now thrown out of the (metaphorical) window.

He grabbed Bones’ other hand and intertwined their fingers. Strange how something so domestic could mean so much.   
“I’d love to,” Jim replied quietly.

This was the third time Bones knew he loved Jim. And it was the first time Jim had truly felt what _real_  love was.


End file.
